Tag: Fire

A fire destroyed three hectares of land belonging to an abandoned finca or
farm in Guardamar on 28 th July. It is thought to have started at around 8.30pm
in an area of palm trees bordering on the natural lake. Fire engines were
called out from Almoradí, Torrevieja and Guardamar in order to try and
prevent the fire from spreading to the parkland.
Altogether it is believed that 30,000 square metres of grassland, trees and
vegetation was destroyed in an area of agricultural land in Guardamar del
Segura. The fire stations of Torrevieja and Almoradí were alerted and
immediately sent out their engines. A special forest branch of the brigade was
deployed from Guardamar to quell the flames. The Guardamar branch is only
available during the summer months, specifically for this kind of incident.
After less than an hour and a half the blaze was brought under control
according to the information provided by the Consorcio Provincial de
Bomberos. The main concern of the fire service was that the fire did not
spread to the natural parks and lagunas of Torrevieja and La Mata. The risk
was reduced due to the type of vegetation that was alight.
Many palm trees were destroyed in the fire along with an abandoned house
and stables. The smoke generated from the fire could be seen from miles
away and was visible from the N332. The cause of the fire is not yet known
but there have been cases of arson in previous years in these areas.
The public are reminded about the need for care, particularly during the dry
summer months. One of our readers, John Hookings, from San Luis, became
aware of the fire on Friday evening when he spotted smoke in the sky. He
went to the area between the Lemon tree road and the lake and took these
pictures.

The man was unable to escape from the fire at his home due to the bars on theentrance to the flat. The barred gate, which restricted access,prevented the rescue of the 70 year old man who was disabled and needed a wheelchair. Three local police officers and six Guardia Civil were taken to hospital with inhalation of smoke during the rescue attempt.
The fire broke out on Saturday 13th May at 2.45 am in a fifth floor apartment in La Tejera building in street Bazán de Torrevieja. When the ambulance arrived it could only confirm the death of the man. Pedro was born in Madrid and had lived alone in the flat for some years according to his neighbours. He suffered from diabetes and had had a leg amputated and for this reason he was forced to use a wheelchair.
Neighbours called the emergency services immediately after hearing the shouts from the man asking for assistance. They could also see the smoke coming out of the house. Neighbours, Guardia Civil, Local Police and health services tried to extinguish the flames using fire extinguishers locatedin the corridors of the building. The victim continued to shout for help from inside but rescuers were unable to reach him.
The problem was that the grill barred entrance to the property and Pedro could not find the keys because of the smoke. Only on the arrival of the fire brigade could entry to the building be forced and the man was already dead in the bathroom with serious burns. Attempts were made to resuscitate him once the services were able to enter. The wheel chair that he used could also be seen, destroyed by the fire.
Attempts were first made to access the fifth floor from the balcony on calleTomillo and ladders were brought on a truck to enable this. However, the flames were too high and smoke prevented the rescue services gaining entry from this direction.
The fire totally destroyed the interior of the property. The cause of the fire is currently being investigated and the fire brigade did not leave the flat until after 5am, once all the flames had completely been extinguished. This is isn’t the first time that a fatal fire has occurred in this building that includes 150 homes.
Suzanne O’Connell

Two men died and a man and a woman were rescued in a fire in Torreta 2, Torrevieja, at 3am on 1st January. The victims, were both approximately 50 years old and from Eastern Europe. The house was a terraced property on two levels andis believed to have been occupied illegally. As it no longer had an electricity supply it was being lit by candles and it is thought that this was the most likely cause of the fire.
The house is situated in Calle de los Pensamientos, which is close to the fish and chip restaurant. The exact cause of the fire is currently being investigated. The house itself was in poor condition and a number of miscellaneous items were being stored there. The fire began in the ground floor part of the property, which is where the two dead men were foundafter being trapped there.
The alarm was raised by neighbours at 2am and the fire was extinguished by 4.20am. When the firebrigade arrived the building was already in flames and full of smoke. The manwho was rescued was shouting for help from an upstairs balcony. Once inside the building, firefighters found the two bodieswho had presumably died through smoke inhalation although they also had burns to large parts of the body.
The two other people who were in the building, a man and a woman, were rescued. The man, who was shouting from the balcony, was admitted to Torrevieja hospital with slight injuries. The woman, who was married to one of the dead men, was able to walk from the house and was treated only for mild injuries.
The two bodies have been transferred to the medical Institute in Alicante for an autopsy.
Suzanne O’Connell